# Cutting Timber to Size

- **Type:** DIY Guide
- **Tags:** Fencing, Decking & Retaining

Despite your best efforts at pre-cutting your decking boards or retainer boards to size, it’s always likely that there will be at least a few boards that are a bit longer than shorter than the rest. This is why cutting the timber at the end is such a necessary step, and it also allows you to carry out the prior stages without too much worry about whether the boards will be even or the same length.

Cutting timber to size, while a fairly simple task, needs to be undertaken carefully otherwise you may not cut the boards as accurately as you could have, or worse, you may end up with a serious injury. One piece of equipment you’ll need for this is a circular saw, which will help make the cut a lot smoother and will make it less time consuming than it would be otherwise.

With a circular saw, you’ll be able to cut multiple decking boards at once rather than have to cut each board individually like you would with a manual saw. If you don’t own a circular saw, no need to worry. You can easily hire a circular saw from Hirepool. At Hirepool you can either hire a [cordless circular saw](https://www.hirepool.co.nz/circular-saw-175-250mm-cordless/saws1/building-and-renovation/equipment-hire.md), or a [corded circular saw](https://www.hirepool.co.nz/circular-saw-175-250mm/saws1/building-and-renovation/equipment-hire.md). While both are good and will take care of the job, the cordless saw will be the most ideal option as you won’t have to watch out for any cords getting in the way.

To finish the cutting of the decking boards, a sander can be really useful to take that little bit extra material off for where it’s just still slightly uneven, and to give the deck that smooth feel and look to it. If you’re planning to hire a sander from Hirepool, you’ll have two options which are a [belt sander](https://www.hirepool.co.nz/belt-sander-100mm.md) and a [random orbital sander](https://www.hirepool.co.nz/random-orbital-sanders.md), both of which will do the job.

## STEPS FOR CUTTING TIMBER TO SIZE

Cutting the ends of the decking boards is the final step of creating your own deck at home, soon enough you’ll be able to enjoy the BBQ outside or enjoy a drink with your friends and family. This step is basically to tidy it all up and have your deck looking as nice and even as possible. It generally takes longer to do this as you go and it makes it harder to get that nice and crisp straight line, which is why we often leave this until the end.

### STAGE 1: MEASURE & MARKING

Measuring and marking is a quick and easy step to ensure you’ll be cutting the timber exactly where you want to be cutting.

- Firstly, you need to identify which part of the timber you’ll be cutting. You should look out for the edge of the outer joist in between the decking boards and come over around 15mm on both ends.

- A chalk line if you have one spare, comes in really handy at this stage as if you position the guide incorrectly, you’ll notice and you’ll be able to adjust before it’s too late.

- If you do have a chalk line, use this to make a line from the first board to the last board by using nails on both ends.

### STAGE 2: MAKE THE CUT

Now that you’ve got the chalk line across all of the decking boards that you’re wanting to cut, it’s time to get your circular saw out and cut the boards in a straight line:

- When you’ve equipped yourself with the necessary safety equipment like eye goggles, earmuffs and gloves, you should turn the circular saw on and pull the trigger to activate the saw.

- When you’ve aligned the saw with the straight line you’ve made with the chalk line, firmly push the saw through the boards until the cut is complete.

- Throughout the duration of the cut, you need to make sure that you’re maintaining a firm grip with both hands and you should position arms to avoid too much kickback.

### STAGE 3: FINISHING THE DECK

Once the cut for each decking board is done, you can check afterwards to see how even it is and make slight adjustments using a sander if necessary. To use the sander:

- Press the trigger of the sander and firmly hold it against the board you’re wanting to sand.

- Keep applying the pressure on the sander until you’ve made the decking board an even length to the other ones or to the chalk line you’ve made.

To make the deck look nice and sleek before staining and sealing, you can also sand the deck on top of the boards using a floor sander.

## READY TO GET STARTED? GET THE EQUIPMENT YOU NEED

Hirepool have professional grade equipment for almost any DIY job. Check out our equipment hire section to get going, or get in touch with your local Hirepool today.

## Useful products for this guide

- [Circular Saw 175 to 250mm](https://www.hirepool.co.nz/products/equipment/building-renovation/saws/521b-circular-saw-175-to-250mm.md)
- [Sabre Saw Battery](https://www.hirepool.co.nz/products/equipment/building-renovation/saws/523e-sabre-saw-battery.md)
- [Belt Sander 100mm](https://www.hirepool.co.nz/products/equipment/floors-cleaning/handheld-sanders/512b-belt-sander-100mm.md)

Source: https://www.hirepool.co.nz/guides/diy/cutting-timber-to-size